Southern Australia hit hard by storms

ADELAIDE, Australia, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- More than 43,000 homes in southern Australia were without power after strong storms passed over the region.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said customers would be without power well into Tuesday as crews scrambled to repair widespread damage. Paul Roberts, a spokesman for the utility SA Power Networks, said recovery was under way but proving difficult.

"It's been really violent storms," he said. "It's left damage across the network from the far west coast, Ceduna, right through the city and into the hills and beyond."

Meteorologists noted 100,000 lightning strikes since Sunday caused downed power lines and sparked more than 50 structure and brush fires.